Black Sheep of the Family
by AzureSpider
Summary: A redo of one of my older and weaker fan-fictions. They're both troubled souls with blood on their hands. But where one has tried to atone for her sins the other heads ever further down a darker road. Can she pull him out of it? Does she even want to? Jason/Helena.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Huntress was not having a good night, to say the least.

Her latest confrontation with Batman had gone extremely poorly. He'd put up with her more brutal methods long enough, and now at last he was laying down the line. As far as Helena was concerned, the line in question was one she could never abide by, but at the same time she didn't want to be enemies with him. Quite the contrary Huntress wanted to be on his side, fighting alongside him. But _he_ wanted nothing to do with her, and she knew it. And why?

The answer Huntress quickly decided, was because she actually had the guts to kill the scum that infested Gotham City when it was necessary. All of them...the killers, the mass murderers, the thieves, the rapists...all of them monsters who Huntress felt needed to go once they crossed a certain point. And she'd known them just as long as _he_ ever had...she was raised by a mafia crime boss after all, and she was orphaned by some of the very same kind of people. She knew about crime...no one could ever argue that...

After their latest borderline shouting match, Huntress was just...running. Running across rooftops, running through the dark labyrinth that was Gotham City, and running away from _**him**_...the arrogant, sanctimonious...

Huntress was shaken out of her inner ruefulness by the sound of a gunshot. She whipped around to the source and followed it to an alleyway wedged in-between a pair of three-story buildings. Her mind was racing with inner thoughts the way it always did when she was in the middle of righting a wrong. But now that was not the only thing racing through her mind. Helena also thought of how this could be a chance for her to prove herself-wait, what was she thinking? Prove herself? She had just decided that she was _done _trying to prove herself to him. Whoever had fired that gun, she was going to take him, or her, down however she wanted and even kill him if necessary, Batman be damned.

She dropped down to the source and made her way into the alley. Her staff and miniature crossbow in hands, with the latter aimed out at whoever had fired the shot. She waited for the opportune moment before popping out from behind cover with her crossbow aimed.

"ALL RIGHT! Whoever you are, I want you to drop your gun-"

A projectile that resembled a batarang went flying in Huntress's direction. She ducked past it and fired out her crossbow.

"All right! Now you've ticked me off!"

"Settle down toots!"

The figure stepped out of the shadows fully, revealing himself to be a young man with an athletic build. His clothes were fairly casual, save for the body armor he wore underneath his black jacket and a utility belt not unlike the ones worn by Batman and Robin only this one had more lethal weapons, such as two holstered handguns, a knife, and even a couple of hand grenades.

But it was what he wore over his head that was the obvious standout: a red helmet that covered his entire face. As Huntress took in his appearance, she also studied the man's posture, size, and other things, all the while unsure of what to make of him. Another costumed face in Gotham? If so, he was keeping it pretty casual compared to what most other costumed characters in the city wore, Huntress included.

"Hey, toots, you done inspecting me, or should I-"

Huntress raised her crossbow at him once more. "First of all: do NOT _ever_ call me toots. Second: who are you, and why did you fire off a gun?"

"That wasn't me. It was him."

The man pointed to the ground to his right. Huntress turned and saw that indeed, a man was lying unconscious on the ground, a gun still in one of his hands.

"He was a really bad shot."

"Uh-huh...and you are exactly?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh really?" Huntress scanned his outfit once more and this time caught something she had missed before: an "R" logo on his jacket.

"Hate to break it to you, but we already have someone with an "R" logo around here..."

The man's posture seemed to become stiffer as Huntress said this, but he did not visibly react in any other way. Finally though, he said through gritted teeth: "Is that a fact? Well I guess that just confirms it. Gone such a short time already forgotten. Wish I could say I was surprised"

"Who are you?" Huntress asked, intrigued by the man's cryptic words.

"I already answered that question"

"And I didn't like your answer. So how about you give me a better one?"

The man chuckled. "Heh. I like your style babe. But you're not getting anything out of me"

"Is that right?" Huntress kept her crossbow aimed at the man and held her staff tightly in her other hand. "I have ways of getting what I want"

Again the man chuckled. "Are you seriously threatening me? That's cute"

The man's condescending remark ignited a fire of rage inside Helena that she then unleashed as she fired her crossbow. The man dodged out of the way and responded with gunfire. Huntress ducked under the hail of bullets and tried to shoot him again only for the man to force her to dodge again with another shot. Closing the distance between them, the masked man attacked Helena with a strike to the shoulder area. Helena gasped and dropped her crossbow. She tried to strike out with her staff but he grabbed it and kicked her back.

"Come on toots, make me work out here"

Snarling, Helena ran at him again and brought her staff down on the man's helmeted head. He raised an arm to block the strike and again zipped into intercept her, moving far faster than she had ever seen anyone else go except for Batman and Nightwing. And he hit about as hard as the latter too. Helena tried to fight him hand to hand but the man moved as if he knew every one of Helena's attacks before she made it and replied then with some crushing blows that always seemed to hit in the worst possible places.

Helena recognized this fighting style. The last time she'd seen it she and Nightwing had almost been killed.

"That's…"

The masked man cut her off by punching her hard enough to send blood flying out of her nose and knocking her back.

"Recognize it do you?" The man smiled underneath his helmet. "I've been around since coming back. And she's not the only one I've been to either. I've spent a long time preparing for my homecoming. You on the other hand either haven't done that much, or you're just straight up pathetic. Maybe both"

Snarling, Helena tried to attack him again and again he downed her with ease. Huntress could feel the contempt he felt for her inferiority radiating off of his body in waves, which only served to make her blood boil. She felt the unspoken disdain for her like a slap across the face. Just like Bruce here was another man who was not impressed with her and barely even paid her a passing glance.

"Damn you!" Huntress roared, even though the man hadn't said anything. This time the man tackled Huntress and forced her to the ground, pinning her arms to the ground and whispering: "Now this doesn't feel too bad"

"Bastard!" Huntress spat, trying to kick him in the groin. Releasing his grip the man rolled to avoid the kick. Seizing on the distraction Helena tried to attack him while he was prone but found she was now slower from being so badly injured. In the end the man recovered in time to catch her punch and pull her close to him. "So much anger, so little restraint. I've been there"

"Who are you?" Huntress demanded. The man chuckled. "Red Hood. That's all you're getting out of me, and that's only because I find you being willing to get the shit beaten out of you just to know my name funny. Now beat it before I have to bruise that pretty face anymore than I have"

Huntress spat at him. "Go to hell"

Red Hood punched her hard enough to finally knock her out. "No thanks babe. I just got back from there"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Helena woke up slowly but surely, and winced as all of her many bruises made themselves known to her. She felt as if she'd been hit by a speeding car and didn't even have the energy to move her body much at all. Honestly she really just wanted to go to sleep again.

But instead she lied awake thinking of who had managed to beat her down like she was nothing. Only three people had ever managed to do that to her before: Dinah when trying to prove a point, Bruce when he'd decided Helena had gone too far and needed to be taken down, and finally Lady Shiva, the latter managing to put her in the hospital after beating her within an inch of her life. This wasn't as bad as that but at the moment it felt like it was.

"Son of a…"

Her voice caught the attention of her savior, who made his presence known. Helena recognized the warm smile, young face, blue eyes, and black hair anywhere. It helped that of all the members of Batman's little family, he was one of the only ones who was ever willing to work with her.

"Hey Helena. Take it easy. You got hurt pretty bad"

"Richard...please tell me you didn't take me to Bruce…"

"It was either that, a hospital, or I tried to patch you up. Not a hard choice to make. But don't worry you're in your place now and I've been watching over you since. You were out for a couple hours" 

Helena did her best to suppress her annoyance. Richard meant well and she really should have been grateful that he was considerate enough to not expose her identity by taking her to a hospital, but grateful was not a word that described Helena often. Not to mention that her current pain did little to help her mood.

"Helena who did this to you?"

"A man around your height and build. Wore a red helmet over his head, dressed like a biker punk. Fought like Lady Shiva. Used her style"

Richard's eyes widened as he heard this. "That's...that's not possible…"

"I know that fighting style. You would too if you saw it. It was Shiva's. Whoever this guy is, he's been to her. According to him he's been to others too. Says this is his 'homecoming' whatever the hell that means. I have no idea who he is and he wouldn't tell me" 

Richard allowed himself to form a slight smile. "And I take it you tried to find out the hard way?"

"Yeah, and I got turned into a punching bag for my troubles"

Richard shook his head. "We _really_ need to work on that temper of yours"

"Shut up. My temper's fine" Richard decided to say nothing about how obviously false that was as Helena continued. "He's dangerous Richard. I could see it in how he carried himself, how he spoke, the things he said...I know because I used to be just like that. He's out for blood Richard. And he's not going to stop until he gets it"

-X-

He was surprised to realize that he was still thinking about her even now.

She was a real hard-ass tough-as-nails bitch, he could tell. He could see it in her posture, her glare, her tone, and how he so effortlessly exploited her incredibly bad temper and fierce rage and used them against her. He knew without even knowing who she was or what her history was that she was damaged goods, just as much as he had ever been. 

He smiled. That was it. She was a kindred spirit.

It helped that she was also very easy on the eyes. He guessed her to be of Italian background, and with blue eyes and long thick black hair. She dressed nicely too with that exposed belly of hers. Probably not the most practical wardrobe choice, but Red Hood figured that if you got shot or stabbed a thin line of cloth wouldn't make much of a difference either way. And he'd have been lying if he said he didn't enjoy the sight. She had a very nice body that complimented her costume quite well. She had muscle too and knew how to fight, enough to break most men in two. But he wasn't most men.

He had felt just a bit of guilt at bruising up that pretty face and also almost breaking her cute little nose, but she hadn't known when to call it quits. Yet another thing the two had in common.

His smile widened. Truth be told he was hoping he'd see her again, but also knew she would be out for his head after the way he'd pounded on her last time. Still, he could always taunt her the way he had that night. He enjoyed seeing her face go hot with embarrassment.

But as it was, Red Hood had other more pressing matters to attend to. He'd been back in Gotham a few days now and was making sure nothing in the city had changed in such a way that his plans wouldn't be able to work. To his pleasant surprise he'd found that they had not changed. At least not so much that things would have to go counter to how Red Hood had planned them. Crimson vengeance would still come to Gotham City, and he would still be it's shepherd.

_No, not a shepherd. An Angel of Death. _

-X-

"That's him" Huntress said, pointing to the frozen image of Red Hood as he continued to evade Batman and Nightwing during their pursuit of the vigilante across Gotham City's rooftops.

"I figured as much" Nightwing said. "He was good. _Really _good. I didn't get much of a handle on his fighting style from what little I saw of it but if this is the guy who went to town on you I'm not surprised. I mean look there…" Nightwing paused at another section of the recording. "He cut the line Bruce shot at him _before _it went taut. You don't just do that. It has to be practiced, learned"

"There's the knife too" Oracle noted. "Not many knives can cut Bruce's lines"

"I know that from experience" Huntress said before asking: "So who is this Red Hood anyway? What's he doing here in Gotham?"

"We're not sure yet" Oracle admitted. "All we know is that he clearly has a real axe to grind against Gotham's criminal underworld. He's already been blamed for the deaths of almost a dozen different members of Black Mask's gang and some of Penguin's as well"

"That will sure make him popular" Nightwing said sarcastically. Huntress though was silent. So Red Hood was a killer of criminals? Someone who employed a more lethal means of dealing with the scum that plagued the city? The similarity to herself was something Huntress recognized immediately. Like her this man, whoever he was, clearly knew the way her people had been operating long before Gotham even existed: that blood cries for blood.

The question then was: what wrongly spilled blood was being paid for?

-X-

Red Hood winced as he continued to apply treatment for his injuries. As had been expected, Batman had not allowed him to just walk away after becoming a mass murderer overnight. That all of the people he'd murdered were scum who had done just as much to others and worse was of no consequence. For the Dark Knight a killer was a killer, and as such Red Hood knew going in that he'd be faced with opposition. The old man had nearly caught him too. He had the bruises to prove it.

Red Hood snarled. More than even the criminals that plagued Gotham Red Hood had a deep-seated hatred for the Dark Knight and his antiquated sense of morality. What made it even worse was that Red Hood also knew he still couldn't beat him. He'd travelled the world as Batman once had, and learned from many different teachers, as Batman once had, but it wasn't the same. With just one look Red Hood knew immediately that for all of his going on a similar odyssey to him he still couldn't hope to match Batman in a fight. At least not yet.

But Batman wasn't getting any younger. Neither was Red Hood true, but he still had plenty of years left to be in his physical prime, whereas Batman's prime was nearing it's close if it hadn't already. In time Red Hood's skills would increase and the Dark Knight's age would catch up to him. And when those two things reached their inevitable conclusions, Red Hood could at last take his revenge. 

But such events were not going to happen for a good long while at least. For now, Red Hood had no choice but to bide his time. No matter. As the small pack of idiots he'd left riddled with bullets before Batman had discovered him clearly showed, there was a neverending supply of thugs and crooks for him to visit his lethality on, both big and small. Much like how Batman had long ago made clear that no criminals were safe from his wrath, no matter how many dollars, suits, and badges they hid behind, so too would Red Hood make clear that no criminal was safe from him and his wrath. Be they murderer or mugger, rapist or junkie, he wasn't about to differentiate. To him they were all the same. And besides that, criminals tended to only get worse in their actions over time. Best to take them out now before they really started to hurt people.

Red Hood couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he re-dressed himself following his tending to his injuries. It was ironic really. He and Batman were after the exact same thing in many ways. The only difference was that Red Hood believed that a more...forceful approach was required. That the only way to guarantee the safety of the innocent from the monsters was to get rid of them for good. And if Batman and his disciples were unable to accept this, then so be it. Red Hood would wage this war on his own. He didn't need anyone else.

Though having said that he couldn't claim to mind the idea of fighting alongside a certain ill-tempered woman who he'd fought once already...

-X-

Following Red Hood's "first impressions" the entire Batman Family had been put on high alert and told to keep an eye out for him. It was also stressed that if anyone other than Batman himself found him they were to call for back-up, as Bruce had decided that Red Hood was too dangerous for any one of his proteges to tackle alone.

Though she was still black and blue all over and it hurt just to slip her costume on, Huntress nevertheless did exactly that and took off in search of Red Hood. Deep down she knew how stupid she was being. She was demolished by him in top condition and now she was in considerably less than top condition. Her only chance would be to call for back-up, which her pride wasn't about to let her do, especially since she knew she'd get an earful from Nightwing and Batman about how she shouldn't be out and about when she was still recovering.

But in spite of all of that Huntress continued to make her way through the city, not entirely sure what was sustaining her. Was it rage and a desire for payback? Curiosity and a desire to learn more about who this man was and why he did what he did? Helena quickly decided that the answer was both as she continued to navigate the city atop her violet motorcycle as best she could, her cape whipping in the wind along with the hair that spilled out from beneath her helmet. Normally she would be traversing the rooftops instead since they afforded her a greater view of the city, but again, given her current condition she figured she'd be better suited travelling more distance with less physical effort, hence the motorcycle.

_With any luck I'll still be able to find him…_

Swerving around and going down another road, Helena kept her eyes peeled for any sign of that distinctive red helmet of his when the sound of gunfire tore through the air. Deciding that dealing with that took priority but also secretly hoping that Red Hood had something to do with it, Huntress revved the engine of her motorcycle and took off in the direction of the gunfire. Sure enough, she saw up ahead Red Hood behind cover as quite a few armed goons were shooting at him, with several others already dead with bulletholes in their bodies.

Deciding to lend the beleaguered psycho a helping hand against her better judgment, Huntress took aim with her crossbow and let fly, hitting two of the four gunmen in the shoulder area before they realized she was there. By the time they thought to aim and fire at her Huntress was behind the cover next to Red Hood.

"Well hello again beautiful. Miss me?"

"Shut up. You owe me for this"

Smirking beneath his helmet Red Hood pulled a grenade and hurled it at the remaining thugs from behind cover. They saw it coming in time to bolt, but that gave Red Hood time to pop out from behind cover and gun them both down as they were fleeing.

Deciding to take her chances then, Huntress aimed her crossbow at Red Hood as he clambered over the now thoroughly shot up car he had been hiding behind. "Don't move. You're not going anywhere until I get answers"

Red Hood chuckled. "Come on toots we did this already. I kicked your ass before and now you can barely stand up. You don't seriously think you can beat me do you?"

"No, but Batman can"

"And you've got him on speed-dial?" Red Hood asked condescendingly. "Don't try to play me. I've been around and I know when someone's bluffing"

Huntress cocked her crossbow. "You really think I won't shoot you?" 

Spinning around before Huntress could fire, Red Hood kicked the crossbow right out of Huntress' hands, the arrow she managed to fire off before being disarmed flying to the side and missing it's intended target completely. Next thing Huntress knew Red Hood had pressed her up against the shot up car, pinning her to it and restraining one of her hands while the other pulled her head back and forced her to look at him.

"You're one glutton for punishment aren't you? Lucky you I'm not sadistic enough to beat on you while you're still black and blue"

"Who are you?" Huntress demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

Red Hood shook his head. "So we're back to that are we? Man you're persistent as hell. But hey, I can't fault you for being determined. Doesn't mean I'm actually going to tell you though"

"You know I'll just keep coming back until I find out" Huntress challenged.

Red Hood pulled her close to him, so that only his helmet was keeping his breath from going right into her face. "Or until you die beautiful. And if that happens trust me when I say it's no skin off my nose"

"Batman won't stop until he knows either"

"Touche, but no offense, I expect him to do a way better job of figuring things out than you. You don't really strike me as the...detective type"

"That's because I'm not" Huntress admitted. "But I still know how to get what I want. And I'm not going to stop until I find out what I want to know about you"

"Why is it so damn important to you anyway?" Red Hood demanded, his previously smug tone taking on a hostile edge.

"Because I know the way you think" Huntress said simply. "I know that blood cries for blood. I know what blood your crying for, but now I want to know _why_"

Red Hood said nothing at first in response to this. Huntress for her part gave no ground as she gave him a withering death glare. Finally, he chuckled and said: "We really are kindred spirits" Releasing his grip on Huntress, Red Hood stood up and said simply: "With that in mind I'd let you take a peek, but I can't risk you telling the bat. He can't know who I am. Not yet"

"I'm not with him" Huntress admitted. "Not him or his little family. He's already made it clear he wants nothing to do with me. He only sees what he wants to see of me, and probably you too. I'd keep your secret"

"Forgive me if I don't take you at your word. I haven't lasted this long by trusting people and neither has the old man"

"And you think I have?"

"Then why are you asking to be trusted now?"

"Because like you said, we're kindred spirits. And besides, if I did sell you out we already know you could just kill me. And believe me when I say I don't want to die. I've come close enough to it a couple times already now"

"I've done more than come close. I've actually been there"

Huntress rolled her eyes. "Spare me the dramatic crap"

"Oh I'm quite serious. You want to know who I am do you? Well here it is" 

Before Huntress could say anything further,, Red Hood removed his helmet, exposing his face. He covered his eyes with a red domino mask that reminded Huntress of Nightwing and Robin's masks. He looked to be around Nightwing's age too, only maybe a little younger. There was also a white streak in his black hair for some reason.

"My name is Jason Peter Todd. And I used to be Robin"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Following his unmasking Huntress had had to ask him a lot more about himself, as she had only heard of the second Robin a few times before and it wasn't something she kept at the forefront of her mind. So it was that Jason went on to (albeit quite begrudgingly) tell her his entire story. The whole thing. From his discovery by Batman, to his death, and finally, to his resurrection and return to Gotham City. He held nothing back to her, and so she just absorbed it all in. Finally, once he was done venting, she, very calmly replied:

"So now you're looking for payback?" 

"You're damn right I'm looking for payback. And it's not just against the clown either. No, he's just the start. I'm cleansing this city in the blood of it's low-lifes"

"Well, I can't say I blame you for wanting to kill that monster, but you know _he's_ not going to put up with your vendetta..."

"I'm aware. I've got plans for him too. He and I are going to have some...shall we say 'words' before all is said and done"

"You sound like you blame him for what happened"

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "No that's not it. I forgive him for failing to save me. I'm pissed at him for a different reason. Namely that I was left un-avenged, and as my successor shows, forgotten" Then, his up to that point calm voice rose in anger: "I got murdered by that death-worshipping sadist and he did nothing! _**Nothing!**_" 

"He doesn't kill remember?"

"Oh I remember. I always thought he was a fool to think like that but I never said so to his face. Now I think I will. And he will either do what he should have done years ago, or I'll do it for him. Doesn't matter much to me. I get revenge either way. And maybe Bruce will be forced to kill _me _to save the clown. Who knows?"

His voice rose in anger again as he vented out to her once more: "I mean, ignoring what he's done in the past...the fact that he's killed dozens, if not hundreds, the friends that he's crippled..."

Huntress couldn't help but wince at that. She had a feeling who he was referring to...

"...And then me. Me, his sidekick, his protege, his **son**, murdered. And here I thought my death would be the end of it. Here I thought that I could rest easy with the knowledge that he would never let that bastard hurt anyone else ever again...but I was wrong. Heh, guess I wasn't so important to him after all..."

Huntress, though it was against her better judgment, placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him hard.

"You were important to him, trust me there. Yeah, he didn't kill the Joker, but he buried you. He mourned you. Hell, he framed his costume in his cave, I've seen it! And now that you're back...I'm sure he'd be happy to see you again...or he would have been had you not started killing people"

Jason smiled. "Exactly. After what I've done if I showed my face to him it wouldn't change a thing. He'd still go after me like he would any other criminal. And honestly I'd be disappointed if he didn't. And even if he did forgive me, he wouldn't trust me to put on a costume again. _Any _costume"

"...Do you really need his permission?"

"No. Which is why I'm going to do what I need to do."

"Do you need to do this though? Look, I know what it feels like to be scarred" Huntress hesitated to say more but as Jason had trusted her with his life-story she felt she could trust him with hers. "My family was killed by mobsters. All of them, shot dead right in front of me while we were having dinner. For years, I've wanted to punish everyone who was involved. For years I wanted to kill them all. Make them pay for what they did..."

"And did you?"

Huntress nodded silently. "Yes, yes I did. I tracked down and killed the man who pulled the trigger and then the slug who ordered the hit. And you know what the honest truth is? I didn't feel any better afterwards. At all. Their deaths did nothing to ease my pain, and did nothing to make me stop wishing every night that my mother and brother were still alive. I even miss my father some nights and he wasn't a good man by any stretch. But killing their killers didn't bring me any happiness at all. In fact I found afterwards that I felt worse. I felt like I'd damned myself to the same hell those men are burning in right now"

"Oh spare me the sermon lady..."

He tried to move off but Huntress tightened her grip on his shoulder to make sure he stayed put.

"Listen to me: I've felt the way you have, I've wanted to do the things you want to do...I have done the things you want to do. But now that I see you and I really think about it...it hasn't really done anything for me, hasn't gotten me anywhere I want to go. All it seems to do in fact is bring more pain. And now after everything you've told me about you, do you _**really**_ want to bring yourself more pain?"

"You sure you're not preaching to me?"

She gave him a smug smile. "I was raised Catholic. Trust me, if I _really _wanted to preach to you I could and would"

Her smile faded and her serious demeanor returned.

"Let's get serious here: if you start down this little crusade, it isn't going to end well: trust me. I mean, I'm not against killing criminals if I think they have it coming, but that's because I believe in protecting these people in a way that works, not just because I want revenge. Revenge did nothing to satisfy me, it won't do anything to satisfy you"

"But that's just it: I also want to help this city, in a way that Bruce never could. I want to clean this city up as the angel of death Gotham's always needed. That is my purpose now. Nothing else"

"If that's true then you won't go after Bruce. And if you do I'll fight you alongside him"

"I thought you said you weren't part of his little family?"

"I'm not, and I don't agree with his way of doing things. In fact the feeling is mutual. But I still know that we're both fighting the same evils and I know that he helps this city. So much as I hate the man sometimes I always respect the symbol. And I won't let you destroy it"

Jason said nothing in response and again Huntress looked him dead in the eye. "Please. I know how you used to be a hero Jason. I know that you've done good things before. And I know that you can be a good person again."

Jason lowered his head solemnly

"It's too late for me gorgeous. Bruce had his chance, and me, well I'm just getting started. This is all I have left now"

"I wouldn't say that...you know I'd vogue for you."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"The only reason I'm not in jail right now is because Nightwing convinced Bruce to forgive me, or at least just enough to let me stay here in Gotham so long as I behave myself. I can convince him to do the same for you if you just stop the killing"

Jason shook his head. "No, I can't stop. Not now, not ever. Like I said I'm what this city needs. The merciless executioner, the thing that will clean up Gotham more than Bruce ever did and haunt the minds of every criminal in this city every waking hour of the day. I'll never stop until I go round two with the Grim Reaper."

"It doesn't need to be like that Jason" Huntress said. She wasn't against someone who would go the extra step against criminals, but what Jason was planning amounted to a prolonged suicide, and as someone who had done similar things for very similar reasons, she could empathize with him in a way that she never did with anyone else. That Jason had been given a second chance at life made Helena feel all the more compelled to convince him not to waste it. She was already probably damned for the vengeful and murderous actions of her first years wearing the costume. She didn't want to see this man who she could relate to be damned alongside her.

But the young man in question was clearly set on his path. He shook his head sadly. "You're wasting your time" then, in a more hostile tone: "It's time for you to go"

"You know they'll all be after you. Not just Bruce and his family. The police, the gangs, everyone. You'll have most of the city against you, and you won't have anyone helping you. You'll never make it"

"Then maybe that's my fate" Jason said coldly. "Now get out of here"

Huntress sighed and turned her back to Jason, making her way back to her motorcycle. As she did she could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head before he walked off in the opposite direction. There was as much sadness to the man as there was rage, and that was yet one more thing he and Helena had in common. More than her bottomless hatred and fury towards those who had destroyed her world Helena felt _sad. _Sad at being alone, sad at being without a family, sad at being the sole remaining member of her family. The Bertenelli family has shrunken considerably over the years, to the point that by the time of Helena's parents it was a shadow of it's former glory that Helena's father had desperately attempted to hold onto. But he was an only child and any outsiders from his wife's side of the family would never be allowed to take over by the family's allies. This was why the hit had happened in the first place. It was figured that if the whole family were to die there would be no proper heir to take over and those who wanted the family's wealth and power could take it at their leisure. And they did. Their fatal mistake was in leaving Helena alive.

But as such Helena was isolated and she could see that in Jason too. They were both alone in this world, with no one they could call friend. And in a way Jason had it even worse. At least Nightwing, Robin, and Oracle all tried to build bridges with Helena. Dinah too when she wasn't coming to blows with her. But that was just it: none of them approved of her way of doing things and even among these people who tried to be her friends she was still seen as an outsider. Someone who had to be reformed, changed. But Helena wasn't sure she could change, at least not to the extent that they all wanted.

And as she thought of all of these things, and more and more likened herself to Jason, Helena realized that she could not give up on him. Anymore than she would just give up on herself, much as she had considered doing that many times. No, Jason could still be saved. She knew it. And if no one else would try to save him, she would. One troubled soul to another.

So it was that Huntress returned home with a new mission.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In the days that followed the brutality of Red Hood's crusade and also his having resigned himself to it in full were both readily apparent to all. Leaving crippling blows to criminal organizations and factions wherever he went, Red Hood was never difficult to find. The only problem was in how he was always able to outmaneuver everyone who ever went after him. He could run as fast as Nightwing and Robin and was almost as agile. Bruce could outfight him but never catch him during a chase, as Red Hood was younger and used that to his advantage.

Huntress for her part thought it better to bide her time and wait for when she could get Jason alone and continue her attempts to knock some sense into him. She knew she'd never be able to get through to him when any of the others were around, especially when they barely trusted _her_ as was. Never mind that she was a saint compared to Red Hood and suspected that he had become even more brutal than she had been at her worst.

_Hell he's worse than some of the __**villains **__too now. The worst Riddler and Selina ever did before going straight was steal things._

This fact had not gone unnoticed by others. The GCPD had since declared Red Hood to be a high-profile target that was to be treated with the same contempt and caution as the Joker, Killer Croc, Firefly, Zsaz, and Gotham's other worst of the worst.

But Helena knew Jason was different from them, even if no one else could see that. He was not a sadistic monster who killed for the sake of killing. He was a man clouded by anger and vengeance as she herself had once been and in a way as Bruce himself still was. The only difference was he took it too far. But that did not make him the same person as the Joker.

As Helena continued to grade the last of her student's papers for the night, she turned on the television to see if there was any news on Jason. Unsurprisingly, there was, but the exact nature of it was not something Helena had been expecting.

"...Tonight marks the twelfth attack on known criminal enterprises by the ruthless and brutal costumed vigilante known only as the Red Hood. Following the bombing of the Sionis Steel Mill, long a haven for criminals of all backgrounds, the following message was broadcasted on every channel:

And then Helena saw him, red helmet on and standing in front of a camera as he addressed the people of Gotham in a voice that spoke of his bottomless rage: "For years we've all suffered here under the heel of the corrupt and the sinful. That is something I will no longer allow. Batman may have made himself your guardian angel, but he's not what this city needs. Gotham doesn't _need _crimefighters. It needs crime _**killers**_!"

Deciding she'd seen more than enough just by watching that one video, Helena turned off the television and sat in silence contemplating what she would do.

Jason wasn't stupid. He must have known full well that every action he took only served to isolate him further, and more than that he was making it clear to Batman and his disciples that just as he wasn't exercising much in the way of restraint so too did he not want any restraint on their part. Helena for one was beginning to suspect that Jason _wanted _Batman or one of the others to kill him, just to prove a point. That some people could not be stopped from doing harm unless their own lives were ended.

Truth be told Helena did agree with that sentiment, but not to the same degree that Jason clearly believed in. And what was more, Helena did not want Jason to become a martyr for his own blood-soaked cause. And in the days that followed Huntress found that more and more she was killing even less than before. Part of it was knowing that she'd again have Batman going after her if so much as a single street thug ended up with one of her crossbow bolts in his gut. But another part of it was that seeing what Jason was doing through an outsider's eyes, Helena found herself more and more wanting to be nothing like that. She no longer had the taste for that kind of mercilessness and callousness that the Red Hood had embraced.

It was several nights later when Helena finally found him before Bruce of any of the others did. He was camped out on a rooftop taking aim at a drug supplier and his potential buyers. With his long sniper rifle he almost resembled Deadshot, a similarity that unsettled Huntress and made her more determined than ever to help him even when he didn't want it.

But before she could move in to stop him Red Hood opened fire and shot one of the men down below, the bullet killing him instantly. Cursing under her breath, Huntress shot at him with her crossbow. Clearly not expecting the shot in the back, Red Hood cursed and whipped around to shoot at Huntress, who had since moved out of the way of his sniper rifle. Circling around, Huntress shot at him from behind cover to keep him on his toes and also prevent him from shooting at any of the other criminals below, all of whom were now shooting at the rooftops Huntress and Red Hood were on.

"You idiot now we're pinned down by almost a dozen armed men. Way to look before you leap toots"

"They can shoot as much as they want, there's no way they'll reach us this high up. As for you and me, I've finally got you alone and I'm not wasting the opportunity"

"Opportunity to do what?" Jason retorted over the sound of the continuing gunfire. "You're not seriously still trying to 'save my soul' are you? You want me to confess to you or something? Because the list's pretty long at this point"

"And you're proud of that?" Huntress asked, her tone more curious than accusatory.

"That I'm getting rid of scum no one will miss and making this city a hell of a lot better than it was? Yeah I'd say I'm pretty proud of that"

"Don't you think it's a bit much though? All the people you've killed I mean. They couldn't _all_ be that bad"

"Doesn't matter to me. They're all a waste of space who ruin the lives of others. And besides, today's drug dealer is tomorrow's murderer. I just cut it off at the source" 

"Is that right? Well how about I cut _you_ off at the source before you become something even worse than what you already are?"

Red Hood laughed at this. "Heh, after I kicked your ass the last time? Glorious ass it was mind you but still. We both know you can't take me"

Huntress was sorely tempted to lash out at Red Hood again but she knew Jason was trying to goad her again by making his lewd comments. And contrary to her usual tendency to let that kind of thing tick her off Helena chose to suppress it for a change and stay behind cover. Once Red Hood realized that his tactic had failed he was on top of her knife in hand. Ready for him, Huntress drew her staff and held it out to parry Red Hood's knife strike. So began an intense duel between them. With her staff in hand Helena at least had a greater range with which to keep Jason at bay, but even with that he moved and attacked with such speed and force to stagger her and force her back. Striking out with her staff to counter Red Hood's own attacks and hit him in the rare moments where he left himself open, Huntress took solace in the fact that she could at least keep him from overwhelming her this time, if only because of her aforementioned longer reach.

Finally Huntress swung upwards with her staff and managed to knock Red Hood's knife out of his hand, but Red Hood was able to then side-step out of the way when Huntress made a thrust with her staff. Moving before Huntress could pull it back in time he grabbed the other end and tugged on it as hard as he could, forcing Huntress forward and allowing him to strike her hard in the nose. Huntress grunted in pain as blood began to trickle out of her nostrils and down her face. Tugging again Red Hood disarmed Huntress of her staff completely before then grabbing her by the head and kneeing her in the stomach. Huntress gasped in pain and Red Hood then grabbed her by her hair and struck her in the back of her neck, which left her paralyzed and allowed Red Hood to finish her by smashing his helmeted head into her face, which finally knocked her out.

"You're still pathetic" Red Hood remarked matter-of-factly as Huntress' body crumpled to the ground.

By this point, the thugs who had been shooting in vain at Red Hood's position had desisted and fled now that they finally realized they were wasting their bullets. For his part, Red Hood was more than a little annoyed that all but one of them had gotten away. With police no doubt on their way, Red Hood decided it was time for him to leave as well. Before he did though, he stopped to look at Huntress' unconscious body again. Like last time he found that for all his hating her for getting in his way again he still felt something when he hurt her. Something he didn't like it.

_Just another weakness. _He told himself. _I'll purge it like I did the others_

Except it didn't come that easily he found. Instead he found himself wondering what might happen if the police came over here looking for the cause of the disturbance. What if they unmasked her?

_That won't happen. And if it does it's not my problem_

But he didn't believe that. Instead he found himself drawing closer to Huntress' body, and the next thing he knew he'd scooped her up in his arms, cradling her body and again noticing that alien feeling inside him that he was rapidly coming to despise.

"You owe me for this babe" Red Hood snarled as he ran off with Huntress as the sound of police sirens filled the air.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

This was now the second time Huntress woke up to pain following a fight with Red Hood. Suffice to say she did not appreciate the recurring nature of the event.

Groaning and forcing herself up, Huntress found that at least he hadn't hurt her as badly this time. Only just enough to knock her out. Not much of a comfort, but at least she could get up and move without it hurting all over…

...or rather she could if her hands and feet weren't currently bound.

"Sorry babe but there's no way I'm taking chances"

Looking up, Huntress saw Red Hood watching her from a badly damaged lounge chair, his knife in one hand and a drink in the other. His crimson helmet sat on the table in-between them along with extra ammunition for his guns, shuriken, and other weapons and gadgets.

"Nice place you have here" Huntress remarked sarcastically.

"It's not mine. Just a temporary residence"

"Why'd you kidnap me?"

"I didn't. I...chose to get you out of there before the cops showed up"

"Why?"

"Good question" Jason replied coldly. "I don't know why. Just that I chose to. I can't explain it"

"Sounds to me like your conscience finally caught up with you" Huntress said smugly, smirking as she did.

"That's a nice sentiment" Jason said sarcastically before adding matter-of-factly: "Didn't expect it from someone like you"

"Just calling it like I see it. Why else would you have 'rescued me'?" Huntress put as much derision into that last part as she could. Next thing she knew Jason was hovering over her and forcing her to look at him. "Careful toots. I'm going against my better judgment already. Don't push it"

"What made you do it?" Huntress pressed, her smile not fading. "Sucker for a pretty face maybe?"

"Don't flatter yourself"

Unfazed, Huntress inched herself closer to Jason, until her face was right in front of his. "Admit it: you hated hurting me"

"Can't say I loved it"

"Like I said: your conscience caught up with you"

Jason grabbed Huntress' hair and held her head in place. "I may not have enjoyed it either of the times I did it but I'll do it again if you keep pushing me. I won't let anyone stop me. Not even you"

"So you do care?" Huntress asked, again giving no ground. She'd finally stumbled upon a chink in his armor.

"About you?" Jason fell silent and released his grip on Huntress as he seemed to consider this. Finally he answered: "Well I could say no, but I guess I'd be lying wouldn't I? Yeah, I care about you. More than I do most anyway. We're similar, and I can appreciate that. You just want to move past your anger. Whereas with me, I've embraced it. Weaponized it."

"I don't want to fight you Jason" Huntress said.

"All evidence to the contrary"

"Look, Jason, trust me when I say that I meant everything I said before. I've been down this road, and...now that I think about it, and now that I see you...and your situation...I'm beginning to rethink myself. I haven't been even remotely happy since the day I lost my parents Jason. And killing criminals sure as hell hasn't done anything to fill the void. I need something more. I need a purpose beyond hatred. And I think you need the same thing"

"Well you think wrong" Jason said coldly. "This is all I need. All I want. Either you can start helping me instead of hindering me, or you can stay out of my way. I don't really care."

"I'm not going to do either of those things Jason. I'm going to keep fighting you and you'll have to keep hurting me to stop me. Do you want to do that?"

Jason said nothing, and the red mask he wore over his eyes concealed whatever they were showing, but Huntress could still feel them soften as he took in what she asked him, the sliver of humanity and goodness that he still had left inside him entering those unseen eyes. Huntress could only pray that it would be enough.

Finally, Jason let out a sigh and slumped back into his chair. "You're never going to give up are you lady?"

Huntress shook her head. "No. I know what you've been through and what you're going through now too well to just turn my back on you. Like you said we're similar. And it's because of that that I care so much"

Jason said nothing in response to this, instead just sitting there silently putting all of his attention to the drink in his hand, which he finished in mere moments anyway. And then after that he seemed to Huntress to just drift off into space, appearing to be thinking of nothing but Huntress knew better. He was thinking about what she had told him. That he actually seemed to be thinking about it at all gave Huntress hope that she was getting through to him. And that in turn told her that she could reach him if she just kept it up.

Finally, Jason let another sigh escape him as he said: "You shouldn't care so much about me. I'm a killer several times over and I've hurt you twice now. I'm not worth it"

"That's what most people always thought about me. But others never stopped until they'd helped change me. And now I'm not going to stop until I've changed you"

"I think you're going to be hounding me for a _very _long time lady"

Helena smiled. "Fine with me. I'm the Huntress remember? Where's the fun if I catch my prey too soon?"

"Where's the fun if you don't catch your prey at all?" Jason retorted.

"That won't happen"

"If you say so"

"So...are you ever going to let me out of here?"

Jason smirked. "Eventually yeah. Don't like my company?"

"No, I just don't like being tied up for long stretches of time"

-X-

Suffice to say, Helena's hopes had been renewed following her last talk with Jason, and she was now trying harder than ever to steer him in a better direction and away from the prolonged and dramatic suicide he had in mind for himself.

Huntress also found that she was beginning to get better herself. More and more she found it less necessary to kill criminals when before she believed it was what was needed to stop them for good. Now she seemed content to just smack the taste out of their mouths and be done with it, which was exactly what Batman himself had always done. Her old willingness to use lethal force was fast waning as all the while she continued her attempts to get Jason to abandon his.

As it was Huntress didn't see Red Hood again for over a week after her last "talk" with him. In the meantime she went on with her life as she usually did, going back and forth between her day-job as a school-teacher and her nighttime exploits as the Huntress, both alone and working with Barbara and Dinah, who along with Nightwing and Robin were two of the only people who were willing to give her a second chance.

Then one day she saw him again, and not under the best of circumstances.

"What the hell happened?" Huntress demanded as a thoroughly battered, beaten, and bloodied Red Hood showed up in front of where she had left her motorcycle after going to deal with some gun-runners. His body armor had taken it's share of punishment, his coat was damaged and missing an entire chunk, and his helmet was cracked. In all he looked like a complete mess.

"Killer Croc" Red Hood explained. "Bastard tried to make a meal out of some kids playing in the sewers. I snapped and rushed in like an idiot"

"And Croc?"

"Dead"

Huntress' eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure considering what I did to him. Croc had me but he was stupid and careless and I exploited that. Honestly though I'm not in much better shape myself. I can barely stand, my ribs are broken, and I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding internally..."

Red Hood tried to move forward and promptly collapsed. Swearing under her breath Huntress got Jason onto her motorcycle and strapped him in so that he wouldn't go flying off when she started driving through the streets as fast as she could to get him medical attention. She was all set to take him straight to the hospital, but then she remembered that to do that would be to give him up to the police. But there was no way she could heal him adequately by herself. She couldn't take him to Alfred either for obvious reasons. So in the end she decided on what was far from her best idea ever but also the only one she could go with.

Ducking behind another alley, Huntress removed Red Hood's armor, helmet, belt, and weapons and brought him into Gotham General half-naked and wrapped in her cape.

"Help him!" Huntress shouted. "For god's sake someone help him he's dying!"

To Huntress' enormous relief paramedics arrived in an instant and hurriedly transported Jason away. Huntress wanted to stay with him, but she knew there was nothing to be done at this point and in any event she needed to make sure no one had stolen any of Red Hood's gear in her absence. The last thing she needed in her day was some idiot running around with his arsenal.

Returning to the dumpster in an alleyway where she'd hidden Red Hood's stuff, Huntress was pleased to find that it was all still there, down to the last shuriken. Grabbing an empty garbage bag nearby she stuffed all of Red Hood's stuff into it and attached it to her motorcycle. Then she drove back to the hospital to ask about Jason, though she obviously didn't ask for him by his name.

"He's suffered multiple broken ribs, bite marks, and internal bleeding. He's lost a lot of blood and he still hasn't been stabilized"

"Can you save him?"

"Yes we should be able to. The wounds are already being patched up, the main problem is the internal bleeding and the broken ribs. Those are more threatening and need to be dealt with immediately. After that he'll need a blood transfusion"

"But he'll be okay?"

"There are no certainties here except that we'll do everything we can" the doctor said. "As it is now, we think we can save him. Do you know what happened to him?"

Huntress wasn't entirely sure she should mention Killer Croc, but she figured that with some of his injuries being bite marks they would have figured it out anyway. So it was that Huntress answered: "Some kids ran into a sewer that Killer Croc was in. He went down there to pull them out and this happened to him. I was able to get to him before Croc could finish him though"

"Brave man coming to those kid's rescue like that. Especially since it almost cost him his life"

"Yeah" Huntress said, silently noting how this was probably the single most heroic and selfless thing she'd seen Jason do since getting to know him. "...a real hero"

-X-

Jason remained hospitalized for well over a month after that. And the entire time Huntress kept discreet watch over him, also fearing constantly that Bruce would come for him while he was vulnerable. Helena did her best to dismiss such fears, as there was no way Bruce could possibly no the hospitalized man, one of many, was the Red Hood, but at the same time he would have had to have taken notice of Red Hood's absence, and for that matter Killer Croc's, who Helena for one was not shedding any tears for. The monster had been blamed for the "disappearances" of dozens of vagrants and was a convicted mass murderer and cannibal.

The entire time Huntress kept the bag containing Red Hood's armor, helmet, weapons, and gear. Common sense dictated that she get rid of it, or else give it to Batman or the police. But something stopped her from doing any of those things. She didn't know what it was, but she had a few ideas. If nothing else she didn't want it being traced back to the man currently enduring a lengthy hospital stay.

Eventually though after about five weeks that hospital stay came to an end and Jason was released. Helena Bertenelli was there to meet him and take him away under the cover story that he was a friend, which Jason played along with. Once alone though he wasted no time asking her what she did with his stuff.

"I still have it. I'm not sure I should give it back to you though"

"Like you could stop me"

"You don't know where I'm keeping it" Helena pointed out. "Really I should have given it to Bruce or the cops"

"And why didn't you?"

"Because I didn't want to run the risk that it could be tracked to you while you were hospitalized"

Jason chuckled at this. "Ah you really do care. I'm touched"

"Prison's not going to help you anymore than it would have me. And there's no way I want you alone in a place with dozens of criminals you can kill"

"So you're gonna rehabilitate me instead? Wow"

"I did save your life you know"

"Yeah, you did. Don't think I'm not ungrateful by the way, but that doesn't mean I'll let you hold it over my head forever"

"Well either way you're not getting your stuff back until I know you can be trusted with it. And you're never seeing your guns again, I can promise you that. I already dumped all the ammunition for them in the lake so you'd just be getting empty guns back anyway"

"Man and I thought _I _was a hard-ass"

"I'm probably going to get rid of the grenades too"

"Just don't throw the knife away" Jason said. "That was a gift"

"Fine. I can use it for cooking anyway" Helena smiled and Jason returned the gesture, "Looks like I'm not the only one who can push buttons"

"I do my share"

"So where do we go from here?"

"That depends on you Jason. If you're ready to be something better than what you were I can help you with that. But if you still want us to be enemies than we part ways right here right now. Your choice"

Jason seemed to consider this for a moment before saying: "And what if I said I wanted to try the first option?"

"I wouldn't let you into my apartment if that's what you were wondering. Or tell you where your stuff is"

"I'd be totally disappointed in you if you did. No, I figure you saved my life so I guess I owe you this much at least. I'll see where working with you takes me. If I don't like it, I leave. No harm done"

Jason's flippant approach to the whole business didn't exactly thrill Helena but she also figured that she was still making progress with him all the same. She took Jason's hand in her own and gave it a good shake. "Alright. Welcome to my way of doing things"

-X-

Deep beneath Gotham City in the lowest, darkest depths of the sewers something stirred. Something injured, something angry, and something out for blood.

Killer Croc's body had floated downstream and then down the falls after his battle with Red Hood. His scaly skin was covered in knife and bullet wounds and he was now missing one of his eyes. A good number of his trademark razor sharp teeth were now gone too. In all the once terrifying and fearsome Killer Croc had been left a broken ruin.

But still he lived. And as he stirred in the slimy dark green waters, he set himself a new goal: bite the Red Hood's namesake right off his slim body.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Following his deciding to humor Huntress, Jason wasted little time rebuilding himself. He spent several weeks just getting himself back in shape, and polishing up his skills both on duffel bags and street toughs unfortunate enough to run into him. In the case of the latter he was also able to get some new guns out of this, though ammo was obviously limited more often than not.

Still, Jason was satisfied to find that his fighting skills and physical ability had not at all deteriorated since recovering from his near-fatal injuries at Killer Croc's hands. Whether it was all because of the incredible rejuvenating powers of the Lazarus Pit that had brought him back in the first place, his own ironclad will and determination, or some combination thereof, Jason didn't know. Only that his results spoke for themselves.

He was still without his costume and gadgets though, which meant that for now at least Red Hood was still missing. That said though Jason quickly decided that he could use that to his advantage. There were after all perks to everyone thinking you were dead. It allowed you to get things done with less fear of intervention. Granted, Jason usually wasn't interested in not being noisy, but he figured that he could still make the most of it as was.

It was about another month before Jason finally met up with Huntress once more. She smiled upon seeing him again and to Jason's pleasant surprise she'd brought his costume with her.

"Hello again. Glad to see you decided to give this a shot"

Jason shrugged. "Figure I still have time to humor you. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead by this point anyway" his eyes fell back to his body armor and helmet. She'd even gone out of her way to repair the damaged armor and helmet in full.

"Must have taken a while to fix them up after Croc went to town on me...thanks"

"Well you can't go trick or treating without your mask now can you?" Huntress asked, smiling teasingly as she did. "Just make sure to be a good boy while we're out or I won't give you any candy"

Jason chuckled. "I know, I know. No killing. I'll play along, don't worry"

"You better" Huntress warned, her tone becoming more serious. "I'm giving you a chance here. Don't waste it."

"Lady I was given a second chance already. And I know what will happen to me because of what I've done. I'm more self-aware than you think"

"That means we've still got a ways to go then"

Jason grumbled but said nothing further. No sooner was he back in his Red Hood costume was he following Huntress across Gotham's rooftops, silently impressed with how she was actually able to keep pace with him. She might not have been able to outfight him, but she did come close to outrunning him.

"So where are we going exactly?" Red Hood asked as he and Huntress continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop, with them making their way through a good portion of the city.

"You and the Bat aren't the only ones who know how to find criminals" Huntress replied. "There's this underground cage fighting circuit that I've been wanting to bust for years but have never been able to. Now that you're here though I'm fancying my chances a lot better"

"Gonna be harder without guns" Red Hood pointed out. "I've been on the receiving end of your fighting skills twice now. You took down Killer Croc. You were trained by Lady Shiva. Honestly I almost feel bad for these people now that you're coming" then her red lips formed into a sly grin. "Almost"

Red Hood chuckled. "So the princess has a dark side after all"

"Only kind of princess I ever was was a Mafia one. And that's something I've rejected ever since that night…"

There was a tense silence following this as the two continued to traverse the rooftops of Gotham City. Finally though they descended and went to a fenced out area that was fairly remote and with no sign of life anywhere. No sooner where they there did Huntress turn to Red Hood: "Changing time"

"Wait, what?"

"We can't just walk into this place we need tickets. The guy giving them to us will be coming any minute. I don't think I need to explain why he can't be dressed like this when he shows up"

"Alright then. It's not black tie is it?"

-X-

Following their meeting with the driver Jason and Helena arrived at the location of the cage-fight dressed in something considerably more formal and less flashy than their costumes, with Jason wearing a fairly inconspicuous and standard tuxedo while Helena wore a red dress that had once belonged to her mother, and was one of the only things of her that Helena had left. With any luck it wouldn't get damaged during the night's…"activities".

"So what's the plan exactly?" Jason asked.

"We crash this place" Helena replied matter-of-factly. "Make sure this ring is out of business for a while"

"How do we do that?"

"By entering _you _into this. You get inside, get what you can on these people, and then we strike when they don't expect it"

"So I have to be the mole then?"

"Yes. But there's something else you should know…"

As Helena said this a female voice rang out on the intercoms: "And we have a knockout! Sportsmaster scores another victory in the ring! I don't think Electrocutioner's getting back up again anytime soon…"

Jason's eyes widened as he heard this. Sportsmaster was a former member of the League of Assassins, and Electrocutioner was a an independent hitman.

"Now I see why you were reluctant to take this place on…" Jason noted. "It's _supervillain _cage fighting"

"Most of them don't have superpowers" Helena said. "Usually it's martial artists and the occasional punk on a diluted version of the Venom Bane uses. Nobody you can't handle"

"Actually gorgeous there is one guy there I might not be able to handle, and they just blasted his name over the intercom"

"Sportsmaster? He's been this place's reigning champion for a while now. But he's never taken anyone you couldn't beat"

"It's not just that. Sportsmaster was one of my teachers. He'll recognize my fighting style anywhere and blow the whistle on me in an instant"

"But you just said he was only one of your teachers. Can't you use a style other than the one he taught you?"

"He'll recognize me if I use Shiva's style too. Remember he was in the League way longer than I was. Those are my two main styles beautiful. Without those I might not be able to beat him…"

"Well with any luck you won't be going up against him right away. Roulette will probably start you off against some of the lower-tier people, nobody you can't handle, even if you hold back"

"So let me get this straight: you want me to become entertainment for these people _and _hold back so I don't kill anyone or blow my cover?" Helena nodded wordlessly in response.

"...alright, and even if I say yes, Red Hood's not any cockfight's rooster. I don't suppose you have something else for me to wear?"

Huntress smiled. "As a matter of fact I do"

-X-

"Someone's here to see you boss"

Roulette's raised an eyebrow at this and looked up from her computer at the massive bald man in front of her. Roulette was the kind of person who did not like to be disturbed, and was also not one for letting just any old person come and see her in person. She knew how to put on a show but when it came to dealing with people on a personal level she was considerably less inclined to be accommodating.

"This had better be good"

"It's a woman who says she's got someone you might be interested in seeing in the ring"

"Oh really?" This improved Roulette's disposition considerably. She was also eager to talk where her business was concerned, especially when it came to the prospect of having a new face in the ring. The crowd _always _ate newcomers up, even when they didn't last more than one round.

"Bring her in"

The bodyguard nodded and stepped to the side. Helena came in and Roulette frowned upon seeing her. Right off the bat she could sense something about this woman that she didn't like. Perhaps it was just the way she carried herself, but Roulette smelled trouble. Only the promise of a potential new face in her ring kept her from ordering her men from throwing the woman out forthwith.

"My men said you have someone I might be interested in. I take it you mean a new fighter in my ring?"

Helena nodded. "Yeah. He's one of the best fighters I've ever seen. He'll make you some money if you give him a shot"

"Now isn't that a sentence I've heard before" Roulette shook her head. "Eh, it's no skin off my back. You want to give your man a shot, I'll allow it. I'll make some money either way. Who is this mystery man anyway?"

"Right here" Jason said, choosing then to make his "dramatic entrance". He was wearing a long tan brown trenchcoat over his usual body armor, and had taken to covering his face in bandages in place of his distinctive red helmet.

"Hush? Well now this is a surprise. I didn't take you for being the cage fighting type"

"Things change" Jason replied in the best gravelly and vindictive voice he could manage, which was rather easily done he found. He was already vindictive, and against the same man no less. Deciding he needed to say more, Jason added: "My endeavours don't fund themselves. If I need to participate in a few brawls to make ends meet, so be it"

Roulette raised an eyebrow in response to this but said nothing further, instead scanning "Hush" before turning her gaze back to Helena. "And who is she? I thought you were a loner Hush"

"I am. She's a temporary ally. Nothing more. Our interests align for now. She wants to be a part of your game and I need money. So we work together to achieve our goals"

Jason had only met Hush once before, but he had gotten a solid enough grasp of his speech patterns from just the one time. He was deceptively formal, and clearly thought very highly of himself at the expense of others. Between that and again, his being just as vindictive as Jason was, it was a simple matter for Jason to slip into the role, even with acting having never been one of his strong suits. But he had some experience in it all the same. As far as visual cues to his identity went, with the distinctive red helmet gone most people would have never been able to tell the difference between him and Hush, as they both dressed in black body armor with some red bits sprinkled throughout. And for someone who had never seen Red Hood up close or even in person, Jason knew Roulette would never be the wiser.

Indeed she finally nodded and said: "Alright Hush if you want a shot in my ring I'll give it to you. You can fight against Electrocutioner tomorrow. But you'll forgive me for thinking you may be in over your head"

"Duly noted" Jason replied, maintaining his Hush voice. Truth be told there were some much more colorful responses he could have given and also would have loved to have given, but as they needed to get into the ring, Jason decided to play it safe with the least hostile but still in-character response he could manage.

Following this Jason and Helena were led out of Roulette's office, and as they exited, Jason was finally able to break his disguise and speak to Helena as himself: "Gotta admit, didn't ever think to try something like this"

"That's probably because you'd never think to disguise yourself as the thing you hate so much"

"Real astute analysis" Jason replied sarcastically. "Can't say you're wrong though. And this plan _is _working. Can't say I mind pretending to be that scum Hush but it's a small price to pay if this works"

"Indeed. Remember, the next fight's tomorrow"

Jason smiled. "I'm looking forward to it"

**Author's Note: Took me awhile to decide who Jason would pose as while cage-fighting. I'm glad I settled on Hush, as it really is the best possible choice I feel.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Draw your eyes to the center ring! We have a very special presentation in store for you!"

The night of Jason's first fight in the ring, Helena was there in the stands keeping a close eye on him to make sure that all went well. And in the event that all hell broke loose for whatever reason Huntress would be ready to fight her way out.

"In this corner, long-time member of our prestigious cage fights, and electrically charged powerhouse, the bruiser from Russia, I give you ELECTROCUTIONER!"

At this Electrocutioner entered the ring, decked out in his usual bulky, black and red body-armor with a black bandanna over his face. Over his heavily armored hands he wore his trademark "shock gauntlets" from which he had gotten his name and fanfare. Huntress for her part had run into the man once before, and knew that for all his swagger he was little more than the standard "dumb muscle" kind of supervillain that Killer Croc and Clayface also came from. But at least those two actually had some credibility. Electrocutioner stayed in Roulette's ring for a reason.

"And in this corner, a _newcomer. _That's right ladies and gentlemen, we've got a fresh new face in the ring today, or rather a _bandaged _face. You may not know him now, or perhaps you've heard whispers here and there. But once this is over you'll all know his name. I give you HUSH!"

As everyone around her roared in approval Helena stayed deathly silent, keeping her gaze fixed squarely on Jason as he entered the ring disguised as Hush. She'd made sure he wasn't carrying any weapons beforehand so he wouldn't just put a bullet in his opponent's head. Granted Jason knew how to maintain a cover, but Helena wanted to make sure.

"I kill you bandaged man" Electrocutioner snarled to Jason before charging up his shock gauntlets. "Then I'm a-jump-start your heart..._**then I kill you again!"**_ As he said this Electrocutioner puffed up his chest and charged up his gauntlets in full to the roar of the crowd. Jason for his part was not the least bit fazed and shook his head in disapproval as Electrocutioner cracked his neck and puffed up his chest again in a vain effort to intimidate Jason.

Next thing Jason knew though his opponent was charging towards him like an enraged rhinoceros. Jason dived to the side to avoid him as he slammed into the wall of the cage with the full force of his body, leaving a depression in it and also causing electricity to course through the entire cage on the account of his gauntlets. One stray bolt came a little to close for comfort as far as Jason was concerned.

Spinning around to face Electrocutioner as he recovered Jason quickly deduced that trying to match his larger opponent's strength would be a fool's errand. As he came at him again, Jason side-stepped to avoid Electrocutioner's lunging punch, with him then ducking under another. Jason then rocketed upwards and slammed his fist into the bottom of Electrocutioner's jaw, sending out a resounding cracking sound and causing the larger man's teeth to rattle in his mouth. Jason then ran up Electrocutioner's body and did a back-flip off of him, as he did kicking Electrocutioner back again. As his massive and heavily armored body hit the floor of the ring hard the crowd burst into a deafening applause. Jason meanwhile kept his eyes fixed squarely on his opponent, all the while ignoring the bedlam around him and in particular Roulette's commentary.

"Well folks I have to say this really is an unprecedented occurrence. Electrocutioner downed in mere moments by a newbie! Is he just out of his game today, or is our newest face for real? We'll just have to keep watching to find out!"

By this point Electrocutioner's pride was clearly as wounded as his jaw, and again he charged at Jason with an incredible amount of speed and force. Remembering with bitterness what had happened when he'd taken on Killer Croc, Jason again dodged out of the way of the charge and continued to roll, duck, and weave out of the way of all of Electrocutioner's follow-up attacks. He knew that with that bulky armor of his it was no doubt taking Electrocutioner quite a bit of energy to strike with as much speed and force as he did, especially after Jason had already knocked the wind out of him. His entire face was sweating and he was panting heavily.

Jason smiled. If he could apply just a bit more pressure he'd have Electrocutioner down and out without breaking a sweat.

Another electrically charged punch was sent his way and again Jason side-stepped to avoid it. Electrocutioner snarled in frustration as Jason again avoided his attacks.

"Fight back!" Electrocutioner roared. "FIGHT BACK!"

"All right" Jason said as he ducked under another of Electrocutioner's punches. "...but only because you asked"

And then Jason jumped into the air and kicked Electrocutioner in the face as hard as he could. The man's sweating scarred face contorted with the force of the blow as spit, blood, and even some teeth all went flying out of his mouth, lips flapping helplessly the whole time. Electrocutioner's body hit the floor with a resounding thud that was swiftly drowned out by the deafening roar of the crowd.

"Well I don't think _any _of us expected this! Hush wins his first fight in the ring and does so with style! I don't know about any of you but I think we've just found one of our newest stars here! Only time will tell how long he can stay in the big leagues!"

-X-

After the clamor had died down Jason had gone into Roulette's office with Helena at his side.

"Well Hush I must say I'm impressed. Your mopping the floor with Electrocutioner back there's got the crowd begging for more. I do hope you'll satisfy them. I'll certainly make it worth your while"

"Hush" nodded. "Yes. A steady and reliable source of money will serve me well for my future plans. I'll give these people what they want as long as you give me a piece of it"

"Of course. Ten percent. That's what everyone here gets"

"I'm gonna need more than that. Twenty percent"

Roulette chuckled. "Not on your life. I like you Hush but not that much"

"Fifteen percent and we've got a deal"

"Fifteen eh?" Roulette seemed to consider this for a moment before at last nodding. "Alright fine. I'll do it just this once. But you'd better not disappoint me"

"I won't"

-X-

"So how long do I have to keep this up?" Jason asked as he and Helena left the ring together.

"Long as it takes to get something we can use" Helena replied bluntly. "Which may be a while"

"Well I'm not sure how long I want to be entertainment for scum"

"Look at it this way: you get to beat supervillains up for a while. What's not to like about that?"

"Point taken but still. I'm Red Hood, not Hush. This charade can't last for too long"

"If all goes well, you'll be out of there by the end of the month. Maybe even the end of the week"

-X-

What followed over the next few days was a test of strength and fighting prowess not unlike what Jason had endured during certain parts of his training with the League of Assassins. One by one new costumed faces stepped into the ring to challenge him and one by one they were bested by him. Everyone from losers like Shatterfist and Catman to more credible threats like KGBeast. And with every person Jason took down disguised as Hush his reputation and fame in the ring grew. Jason of course didn't care and truth be told was downright disgusted to become such a spectacle in something criminal, but he was willing to make the sacrifice.

As it stood he and Helena got all manner of information on the ring and also how Roulette funded her operations. The stage was set for an "anonymous tip" to lead the GCPD to the underground fighting circuit, with the additional information Jason and Helena had acquired without Roulette noticing only serving as the nails in the coffin. There was enough to bury Roulette and her associates for a very long time indeed.

But there was still one last fight to be had before the die could be cast.

"Any idea who it might be?" Jason asked as he and Helena looked over all of the evidence they had gathered against Roulette one last time to make sure it was all there.

"As in who you'll have to fight?" Helena shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe Sportsmaster"

"That would be a problem" Jason pointed out.

"It'd either be him or someone just as bad. You getting cold feet?"

"At the thought of fighting someone I can't beat without blowing my cover? Yeah I'm just a little bit concerned"

"You? Concerned?" Helena feigned shock. "I don't think my heart can take it"

"Easy for you to laugh. You're not going up against the guy who once went three rounds with Bruce"

"Bruce beat him though didn't he?"

"He did, but not easily. And he was one of my trainers. He'll know me"

"Not if you don't use what he taught you"

"If I don't I'd have to use Shiva's, which like I said, he'd also recognize. What I've got besides that may not be enough"

"Well it shouldn't matter either way right? I mean this is the last fight you'll have to be in. Who cares if you win or lose?"

"Besides all those people watching?" Jason said with a cocky grin. "Well for one thing I happen to care whether or not I get my ass kicked"

"You'll do fine Jason. I'm sure of it. You beat me twice without breaking a sweat. You can handle a guy in a hockey mask who fights with sports equipment"

"That's what I thought when I first met him. It took a while for my ribs to heal afterwards"

-X-

"It's one hell of a matchup tonight folks as we pit two of our biggest and best in the ring against each-other! Hush, the unexpected success story, and Sportsmaster, reigning champ of the ring! Which one of them will walk away the winner? Place your bets now!"

Jason silently lamented the revelation that he would indeed be fighting Sportsmaster. Truth be told he wasn't sure if maybe he should just go all out, as after all this would be his last fight regardless of whether he won or lost. Might as well end on a high note.

Sportsmaster was already waiting for him when he entered the ring. He was taller than Jason and had a physique to match Bruce's. He dressed in black cargo pants and gray blue body armor over his torso. One of his arms was covered in additional armor and over his face he wore an intimidating steel gray mask styled to resemble an old-school goalie mask. True to his name he carried a duffel bag filled with various "sports" items that were plenty dangerous as weapons, but as this was a brawl he had tossed the weapons to the side. Jason took that as a good sign, as Sportsmaster's one major weakness was he relied on weapons a little too much. Without them Jason might have a chance.

Sportsmaster stared Jason down from behind his mask as the crowd grew all the more wild as the highly anticipated fight came closer and closer to occurring.

"I gotta say Hush I never expected to see you here. Or to kick so much ass"

"That's what everyone's said" Jason retorted in his "Hush" voice. "And here I thought you could come up with a more original response. Guess not. Disappointing as always"

Unfortunately Jason's taunt did not have the desired effect, as Sportsmaster merely laughed it off. "Ha! I like you mummy. I'll try to not make this hurt _too _much. Lucky you I left my weapons behind"

And then with this simple response Sportsmaster came at Jason with such speed and power that the younger man was barely able to react in time. Throwing up his arms instinctively he managed to block the first strike and follow it up with an upward double punch before then being pummeled hard and fast by Sportsmaster, each throw of his fists striking with enough force to knock the wind out of Jason and cause him to stagger as already he felt himself become short of breath and his stomach area cry out in agony from so much force slamming into it over and over. His arms too felt as if their bones were breaking from barely withstanding so many punches to them.

"Ooh! And Hush gets off to a bad start, with Sportsmaster rapidly pummeling him into submission!"

Managing to catch his breath only briefly, Jason threw out one punch that connected before Sportsmaster began pummeling him again, his training keeping him from falling for the obvious blows that so many of Jason's other opponents in the ring were downed by and also being able to move fast enough to strike before Jason could respond in time.

Jason knew how his old teacher fought. For him it was just another game to be played and won, and Sportsmaster always, _always _played to win.

Finally though Jason trapped one of Sportsmaster's arms and with his free hand grabbed Sportsmaster's other fist. What followed was an intense grapple, with Sportsmaster and Jason each putting all of their strength into their arms in a desperate attempt to finally outmuscle the other.

Jason could feel his arm be pushed almost to the breaking point. He sweated as it felt like his arm was being split open by the strain. Snarling like a wounded predator before it lashed out, Jason gave everything he had to moving Sportsmaster's arm out of the way before finally breaking the lock and delivering an uppercut to Sportsmaster's face. This was followed up with several more punches to Sportsmaster's body before he headbutted Jason away and entered into a boxing stance. Replying in kind Jason held up his arms and used what Sportsmaster had taught him against him.

Sportsmaster's eyes widened in surprise behind his mask as he recognized his own fighting style being used against him, a brief moment of distraction that Jason seized on to punch him as hard as he could across the side of his face repeatedly, which hurt Jason's knuckles from striking steel so hard but also clearly staggered Sportsmaster.

And also make him angry.

Next thing Jason knew he felt himself being pummeled again as Sportsmaster went with him even more force and fury than before, hitting some so hard that even the older man was beginning to feel pain in his hands from hitting so hard so many times. His mind kicking into survival mode Jason rolled with the punches long enough to regain his footing and start dodging the attacks, retaliating with blows of his own. By this point Jason's hands were stinging with pain constantly and his body felt bruised all over. But he didn't stop. Not when he knew Sportsmaster was feeling exactly the same way.

Their intense physical exchange continued for a while longer before at last fell to their knees as the combined injuries at last took their toll. As they panted for breath desperately many in the crowed booed at the lack of a clear victor, but the two combatants ignored them. Sportsmaster managed a weak smile behind his mask.

"Well it looks like the student's finally managed to equal the master, right '_Hush'_?"

Cursing Sportsmaster's deducing his identity, Jason said through gritted teeth: "Yeah, looks that way. You gonna blow the whistle on me?"

"Aw come on where's the fun in that? Nah, I'll keep quiet. I don't know why you're pretending to be Hush or cage-fighting but I could probably guess. And honestly I don't care either way. How about we finish this?"

"If you think you can manage it"

And the next thing Jason knew he was lying flat on his back to the roar of the crowd.

"And the winner, still the undefeated champion of the ring: _**Sportsmaster!**_"

"…ow"

But the celebration was short-lived as the doors were kicked down and a small army of heavily armed and armored GCPD officers flooded into the ring. Everyone screamed and fled as the GCPD officers entered, with the frontmost officer stepping forward: "Show's over everyone. This underground circuit's just been shut down forever" then turning to his men: "Arrest every last costumed face you see"

The GCPD officers nodded and begin moving forward, the amount of firepower they carried prompting most of the other supervillains to scatter rather than risk being filled with holes resisting arrest. Jason and Sportsmaster for their part were sitting ducks in the cage, which the GCPD officers swiftly surrounded. Seeing that the only way to open it would be from Roulette's booth, the GCPD officers went there next, managing to grab Roulette before she could make a getaway.

"Open it" the head officer ordered

The other officers did as instructed and the walls of the cage were raised, allowing the officers to crowd Sportsmaster and Jason, the latter of whom dropped well over half-a-dozen smoke pellets to send up a thick cloud of smoke. Staying low to the ground as some of the officers fired into it, Jason took out his grappling hook gun and fired it into the higher stands. By the time the GCPD realized what was happening they were too late to gun him down. Other officers tried to intercept them but Jason was able to take them down relatively easily. Throwing more smoke bombs at them, Jason bought himself enough time to make his escape as he and Helena had been planning it for when the time came. The others though were not so quick on their feet, and several of the supervillains were captured by the GCPD, especially as more and more armed and armored men flooded into the building.

"_See you around Sportsmaster" _Jason thought as he made his getaway. "_Can't say I'll be sorry to see you go to jail"_

-X-

Jason met Helena later that night in a location they had agreed on. No sooner did they see each-other did Helena ask Jason how he was holding up following his fight with Sportsmaster and subsequent escape.

"Well I can't say I'm doing great but I'll live. And we buried those lowlifes, so that's a nice consolation"

Helena smiled. "See? There are other ways besides putting bullets in people"

"Not as effective though. If we'd killed them we'd know they'd never hurt anyone else ever again"

Helena frowned. "And here I thought you were actually learning something"

Jason smiled. "Not a chance. This was fun as a one time thing but it'll take more than this to convince me I'm wrong. See ya around"

And with this parting exchange Jason turned heel and ran off into the night, leaving Helena alone.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Following shutting down Roulette's operations Helena did not see Jason again for about a week afterwards. However all the while she was also looking for the slightest hint of any activity on his part. But no matter where in Gotham she looked she came up with nothing every time.

_Probably just biding his time again…_ Helena noted as she returned to her apartment after another night of fruitless searching for Jason.

-X-

It had become such a stranger to him.

As he held his red helmet in his hands and continued to stare at it, Jason couldn't help but feel a sense of unfamiliarity with the most distinctive part of his costume, as it had been over two months now since he'd last worn it. And a lot had happened in that period of time.

Huntress had been fighting tooth and nail to get him to change, and he'd humored her just this once out of gratitude for her saving his life and because he wasn't so inflexible that he couldn't experiment. But now that that was behind him Jason was pretty content to continue as he had before. Seeing criminals be put into prisons that would never keep them for any acceptable length of time only served to remind Jason of the righteousness of what he was doing.

But despite the fact that Jason remained resigned to his crusade there was one difference. Two actually.

The first was that Jason had taken some time to consider Huntress' words about how unfulfilling revenge was for her, and thinking about it decided that she may have made a valid point. Much as Jason hated both the Joker and Bruce in equal measure, what he was really after he found was not revenge, but satisfaction. And that was something he wouldn't get from just killing the clown or the old man.

No, satisfaction would come in proving that he was right and that Bruce was wrong. As to how he'd accomplish that, he was already working out a few ideas. He would show why his way was the only one that would ever work.

The second thing was that Jason now realized and accepted that he had finally come to truly, genuinely care about someone other than himself. And that someone was the woman who had gone out of her way to change him for the better and to whom he now owed his life. That last part wasn't something he claimed to be happy about, but he had to admit that not only did he care about Helena and her well-being, but that it felt...good, to care about someone else. And feeling good was a rare occurrence in Jason's life, before and after coming back from the dead.

Jason shook his head. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to feel, not like this. He was supposed to focus on the mission, the way Bruce always did only to an even greater degree. There was no room for anything else…

...but at the same time Jason found that he thought about Helena a lot. About where she was, what she was doing, all manner of insignificant things that he nevertheless paid a great deal of attention too whenever his mind wasn't totally fixated on something else. Not to mention that the image of her beautiful face tended to appear in his mind rather often.

Jason let out a sigh. He'd allowed himself to feel again, and what was worse, he found that he liked it.

-X-

Huntress knew the second she saw the bodies that it was Jason's handiwork.

Several men on the ground filled with holes before any of them had even been able to fire a shot. All of them criminals. True, gang violence was a common occurrence in a place like Gotham but Huntress knew Jason too well to not realize it was him. She could feel his rage, his fury, his hunger for a more brutal justice all radiating off of the bodies of the men he'd just killed, as though he'd left behind an intense and powerful aura that Huntress felt she could feel in a way no one else could.

And it felt fresh too.

Huntress took off in the direction that was to the left of where the bodies were, as she did feeling the same aura of rage with every step. She could feel his presence. Even though she had no supernatural or inhuman powers that would allow her to track him Huntress didn't need them. She was connected enough to the man behind that crimson helmet that she could feel him. And that was all she needed.

Sure enough making his way across the rooftops was the man himself, his red helmet standing out to her like a beacon in the darkness of the city. Wasting no time, Huntress sprinted after him and grappled onto one of the buildings. So began a chase across the rooftops of Gotham City, which had been the sight of many such chases in the past, though with decidedly different participants than this night. Nevertheless, Huntress couldn't help but note the similarity.

_So this is how Bruce feels when he's chasing Selina._

Finally Huntress began to gain on her target, who at last realized he was being followed and turned to see who it was. Upon seeing that it was Huntress, Red Hood skidded to a halt, which surprised Huntress so much she nearly forgot to stop herself.

The two stared each-other down on the roof of a five-story high building as the moonlight reflected off of Red Hood's distinctive helmet. Giving no ground, Huntress said: "Looks like you've been busy tonight"

"Don't act so surprised your highness" Red Hood replied sarcastically. "I told you I was going back to doing things my way"

"So us working together meant nothing to you?"

"I wouldn't say that" Red Hood replied. "I didn't mind working with you. What I did mind was not finishing the job. You know every one of those people the police nabbed will be free again right? And then they'll just pick up where they left off. And it's not like they're gonna be kept for very long anyway"

"Actually some of those supervillains have rap-sheets of their own. I don't think they'll be walking anytime soon"

"You'd be amazed at the different ways the scum have managed to cheat justice" Red Hood snarled. "Sportsmaster used to tell me about his days with the Suicide Squad. A place where supervillains can trade their prison sentence for a sheriff's badge. Some world we live in huh?"

To that Huntress had no response to give. Mostly because that was something she did agree with Jason on. The Suicide Squad's entire existence was repulsive to Huntress and for that matter every other self-respecting person who knew about it. Amanda Waller and the others heading it up argued that criminals they may be but they also had clear talents that could be put to use in the service of the US Government's agenda. That it also meant keeping them from answering for whatever crimes they may have committed beforehand was of no consequence. Needless to say, there was a reason why it was considered rather confidential information. If the general public knew…

Regardless, Huntress knew, and for once she and Jason were in total agreement on something. But that didn't mean she still approved of his general MO.

"Most criminals don't get put in the Suicide Squad though" Huntress pointed out.

"Doesn't mean a thing if they're free men just a few months later. Who do they think they're kidding? A few months won't change them. They'll just pick up where they left off and keep going until they cross the line. And who's fault is that really?"

Huntress sighed deeply. She'd heard this all before. Especially considering that she herself used to argue some of the very same things to Bruce, who was never moved by it in the slightest. He wouldn't back off from his moral high ground whereas Huntress at the time thought the whole notion of such a high ground was absurd. Amazing how much things had changed.

"You know you're right. At least partly. But if you think I'm doing this for the sake of the scum you and I fight everyday you're nowhere near as smart as you act. No Jason I'm doing what I'm doing for _your _sake"

"So you've made clear" Red Hood admitted. "But what makes you think I want to be saved?"

"Some people don't know how much they need help until after they've gotten it" Huntress said. "That's what a good man once told me. And I believe him. Whether you see it or not you need my help", then continuing: "Look: I've been tracking the movements of members of Intergang for a while now. I don't fancy taking them all on by myself and I don't like going to Bruce and his family for help".

"So you figured we could have another team-up instead?" Huntress nodded and Red Hood chuckled in response. "I can't promise you I won't do what needs to be done"

"Maybe but that all depends on if we can actually find them or not. As it so happens I know someone who may be able to help us find them…"

-X-

The Calculator was his name. Or at least, that was what everyone he ever did business with knew him as. That was how he liked it. Things could get messy if some of his more violent clients ever learned more about him, as one could never predict what some of the costumed psychopaths would do next.

For his part though, Calculator did his best to guess. In fact, he thrived off of doing such things. Every secret, every juicy bit of information, all the comings and goings of everyone Calculator could possibly get dirt on, all of it was his to own and sell to the highest bidder. It was a profitable life. Much moreso than his initial ill-advised foray into traditional supervillainy had been…

Calculator continued to look over some more recently acquired information as he beamed with pride at just how much he had managed to get his hands on. The audio files of the Falcones alone would fetch a pretty penny to people on both sides of the law. Only question then was who could shell out more money for it. As for the Falcones seeking retribution, Calculator wasn't concerned about that sort of thing. They'd be hard-pressed to track him down, and even if they could, quite a few high-profile supervillains owed Calculator favors. He could call them in to protect him whenever he desired.

Little did he realize that tonight he would never get the chance to call on such protection.

Hearing a loud knock on the door Calculator grabbed his handgun and demanded to know who it was. The answer he got was his door being kicked down. Calculator fired out with his gun but whoever had kicked the door was smart enough to anticipate a retaliatory gunshot and had moved out of the way beforehand. Next thing Calculator knew an arrow zipped through the air and disarmed him of his pistol. Considering that most costumed archers didn't call Gotham City home, Calculator was immediately able to deduce who he was dealing with. Her voice just confirmed it.

"Hello Kuttler. Still pretending you're the bad guy's Oracle?"

"What do you want?" Calculator demanded.

"We're looking for someone" Huntress said matter-of-factly as she strode into the room in full along with Red Hood. "Actually several people"

"Bully for you. And you expect me to help huh?" Calculator formed the slightest of smiles. "And how can you make it worth my while?"

The answer Calculator got was a punch from Red Hood's armored hand that knocked the wind out of him and brought him to his knees.

"We're not here to ask for permission Kuttler" Huntress growled.

"I gathered" Calculator wheezed as he struggled to force himself back up.

"Intergang" Huntress said. "A group of them left Metropolis and came here recently…"

"I know" Calculator replied matter-of-factly. "I know about the comings and goings of everyone that matters in this city. It's what I do. I still don't see any good reason why I should tell you a thing"

"This doesn't have to be difficult Kuttler" Huntress cautioned.

"Screw you. I don't give out information like candy. That's bad for business"

Red Hood turned to Huntress. "I'd punch him again but ladies first"

"Such a gentleman" Huntress replied sarcastically before swiftly kicking Calculator in the jaw and bringing him down yet again. Huntress swiftly planted her heeled boot on Calculator, who held up his hands to keep it away from his neck and head.

"Can't run any kind of business with a broken neck" Red Hood said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright!" Calculator shouted. "I get the picture! Get off me and I'll give you what you want!"

Huntress backed off and Calculator scrambled to his feet, coughing and gasping for air as he did. "I keep files on everyone of import who does anything in this city. Most of them aren't as smart or subtle as they think. It should be a simple matter to find what you're looking for…" Calculator walked over to his work-space and began looking through both computer files and physical ones. Finally he found something in the latter.

"Ah, here it is. Yes, Intergang members came into Gotham a week ago on an unscheduled freighter from Metropolis. I can probably guess why they left. Regardless I tracked them and they're in Cobblepot's section of the city last I checked. Probably there to do business with him. Speaking of which I believe that _our _business is concluded, so there's the door"

Red Hood drew one of his handguns and aimed it at Calculator, which caused him to jump in a start. "Don't be so quick to show us out. You're still a criminal Kuttler"

Calculator raised an eyebrow and frowned. "And? Are you going to kill me for that? That's not how you 'heroes' do things"

Red Hood smiled underneath his helmet. "Whoever said I was a hero? And hero or no, I've got nothing against putting one in your leg…or your lap"

But before Red Hood could fire Huntress grabbed his gun-arm and pulled it away. "You don't need to shoot him Red. We've got what we need and he's not any kind of threat. Besides, we could make use of him later on"

Red Hood angrily shaked Huntress' arm off but nevertheless seemed to consider what she was telling him. Finally he nodded and turned back to Calculator. "Well aren't you lucky? I've got an angel on my shoulder tonight. Don't let me see you again"

As Red Hood and Huntress turned to leave, Calculator called back to them: "Lots of luck to you two. If you're together, you're gonna need it"

Huntress stopped as Calculator said this and then spun around and kicked him so hard she broke his glasses and knocked him flat on his back. As she followed Red Hood out he muttered: "Hypocrite"

"I didn't shoot him"

"Touche"


End file.
